Where a Minister and the appropriate Minister propose to make an order under section 271(6) or 272(6), they shall prepare a draft of the order.

Before making an order under subsection (5) or (6) of section 271, or under subsection (5) or (6) of section 272, the Ministers proposing to make the order shall give the statutory undertakers or, as the case may be, the operator of the F1the electronic communications code network on whom notice was served under subsection (2) of section 271 or, as the case may be, under subsection (2) of section 272 an opportunity of objecting to the application for, or proposal to make, the order.

If any such objection is made, before making the order the Ministers shall consider the objection and give those statutory undertakers or, as the case may be, that operator (and, in a case falling within subsection (5) of either of those sections, the local authority or statutory undertakers on whom the counter-notice was served) an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, a person appointed for the purpose by the Secretary of State and the appropriate Minister.

After complying with subsections (2) and (3) the Ministers may, if they think fit, make the order in accordance with the application or, as the case may be, in accordance with the draft order, either with or without modification.

In this section references to the appropriate Minister shall in the case of an order under section 272 be taken as references to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.